Miter saw with improved carrying mode

ABSTRACT

A miter saw has a base assembly and a rotatable table disposed on the base assembly. The rotatable table is rotatable about a substantially vertical miter axis and has a substantially horizontal workpiece-supporting plane. A saw assembly is connected to the table and includes a blade. The blade is movable downwardly from a first position where the blade is above the workpiece-supporting plane to a second position where a portion of the blade is below the workpiece-supporting plane. The base assembly has a top surface and a first handle disposed on the top surface, with a first hole on the top surface extending through the base assembly, the first hole being configured to allow a user to extend the user&#39;s hand therethrough and grip the first handle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The following application derives priority from U.S. Patent ApplicationNo. 62/043,489, filed on Aug. 29, 2014, now pending, which is herebyincorporated in whole by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to miter saws, and in particular, to amiter saw with an improved carrying mode.

BACKGROUND

Chop saws and miter saws are commonly found on jobsites because of theirversatility and ability to make cuts that other power tools cannot makequickly. Typically a chop saw has a base assembly and a saw assemblyattached to the base that can be lowered into a cutting position. Onesuch chop saw illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,960, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

A miter saw is a chop saw that has a rotatable table in its baseassembly for allowing miter cuts. Some miter saws, such as the oneillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,463, which is fully incorporatedherein by reference, have a beveling saw assembly, which allows bevelcuts, i.e., inclined cuts relative to the workpiece-supporting plane ofthe base assembly and/or table. In addition, in some miter saws, the sawassembly may beveled rightwardly and leftwardly from a zero-bevelposition, i.e., 90 degrees relative to the workpiece-supporting plane.One such chop saw illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,027, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

One problem with prior art chop saws is that they may be unwieldy tocarry. Users tend to carry them by holding the saw's base assembly withboth hands, or carrying them by the carrying handle 26. The present chopsaw is more manageable to carry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front left perspective view of a miter saw.

FIG. 2 is a front right perspective view of the miter saw of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the miter saw of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an alternative top view of a portion of the miter saw of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom left perspective view of a portion of the miter sawof FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a person carrying the miter saw of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-2 illustrates a chop saw 100 according to the invention, wherelike numerals refer to like parts. Chop saw 100 has a base assembly 12,which may include a rotatable table 14. A fence assembly 16 is connectedto base assembly 12.

Saw assembly 18 is pivotally attached to table 14. Saw assembly 18includes a support housing 17 which is rotatably connected to table 14.Support housing 17 preferably supports rails 17R, which preferably slidetherethrough.

At the end of rails 17R, it is preferable to provide a hinge 19H. Apivot arm 19 is pivotably attached to hinge 19H. Pivot arm 19 supports amotor 27 in a housing 27H. Motor 27 is operably connected to a blade 22for driving blade 22. A transmission (not shown) may connect motor 27 toblade 22.

An upper portion of blade 22 may be covered by an upper guard 23, whichis supported by pivot arm 19, A movable lower guard 24 may be rotatablyattached to upper guard 23. Lower guard 24 covers a lower portion ofblade 22 until the pivot arm 19 (and thus saw assembly 18) is moveddownwardly in a chopping action. A linkage 24L moves lower guard 24 toexpose the lower portion of blade 22 for cutting a workpiece.

Chop saw 100 has a handle 28 for lowering pivot arm 19 (and thus sawassembly 18) in the chopping action. In addition, chop saw 100 may havea carrying handle 26.

Base assembly 12 preferably has handles 12H configured to be gripped bya palmar surface of the hand 92 of a user 94 when the user 94 istransporting chop saw 100 (see FIG. 6). Carrying handle 12H may have agrip portion 12HG that is contoured to receive the fingers of the user94 when the user 94 is transporting chop saw 100.

Preferably a portion of handle 12H is disposed within a region Rdisposed between lines LA, LB. Line LA is disposed between point 22KP,which is the point along the cutting kerf 22K (i.e., the intersection ofblade 22 and the support surface of table 14, which is within plane 102)that is farthest from the fence 16 when table 14 is mitered (i.e.,rotated) to its most extreme position (either leftwardly or rightwardly;FIGS. 3-4 show table 14 in the rightmost position), and a point 16PP inthe plane 16P of fence 16, so that, when line LA is drawn between points22KP, 16P, line LA is substantially perpendicular to the plane 16P. LineLB is substantially parallel to line LA and about 100 millimeters fromline LA.

As shown in FIG. 3, grip portion 12HG can be disposed within region R.Alternatively, grip portion 12HG can be disposed outside of region R.Grip portion 12HG preferably has a top surface that is substantiallycoplanar with the plane 102 of table 14. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize that providing a grip portion 12HG that is substantiallycoplanar with the support surface of table 14 effectively extends theworkpiece support surface of base assembly, 12. Due to the opening 12O,which allows the user to insert his/her fingers therein, the overallweight is not substantially affected, thus providing a larger workpiecesupport surface with little added weight.

Grip portion 12HG is preferably formed about a center line that lies in(or is positionable into) a plane that includes the center of gravity CGof chop saw 100. It may be advantageous to design chop saw 100 to placethe center of gravity CG (when chop saw 100 is held in a verticalorientation as shown in FIG. 6) within the plane 102 of the supportsurface of table 14.

Preferably plane 102 is proximate a lateral side of the user 94 (i.e.,within about 10 inches of the lateral side, and preferably about 3inches to about 7 inches) and the user's wrist 92W is not in a state offlexion. With the carrying handle 26 so positioned, the user 94 is ableto comfortably carry the chop saw 100.

Because the base assembly 12 and table 14 are typically made of metalwith ribs provided below plane 102, it is preferable to provide thebottom of base assembly with at least one bottom surface plate 12W.Plate(s) 12W could extend between the feet 12F of base assembly 12 andpossibly cover the entire underside of base 12. Preferably plate(s) 12Wwould be made of plastic, rubber and/or an elastomeric material. Personsskilled in the art will recognize that providing plate(s) 12W will allowthe user 94 to comfortably place chop saw 100 against his/her leg.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A miter saw comprising: a base assembly; arotatable table disposed on the base assembly, the rotatable table beingrotatable about a substantially vertical miter axis and having asubstantially horizontal workpiece-supporting plane, said substantiallyhorizontal workpiece-supporting plane is substantially parallel to orcoplanar with a workpiece-supporting surface and substantiallyperpendicular to the vertical miter axis; a saw assembly connected tothe table, the saw assembly comprising a blade, the blade being movablefor a cutting operation downwardly from a first position where the bladeis above the workpiece-supporting plane to a second position where aportion of the blade is below the workpiece-supporting plane; and afence connected to the base assembly, the fence defining a fence plane;wherein the base assembly has a top surface and a first handle disposedon the top surface, with a first hole on the top surface extendingthrough the base assembly, the first hole being configured to allow auser to extend the user's hand therethrough and grip the first handle,the top surface being coplanar with the workpiece-supporting plane, andthe miter saw having a center of gravity within the workpiece-supportingplane.
 2. The miter saw of claim 1, wherein a portion of the firsthandle is disposed within a region of the base assembly.
 3. The mitersaw of claim 2, wherein the region is defined by a first line between afirst point along a cutting kerf that is farthest from the fence whenthe table is mitered and a second point on the fence plane, where thefirst line is substantially perpendicular to the fence plane, and asecond line substantially parallel to the first line.
 4. The miter sawof claim 3, wherein a distance between the first and second lines isabout 100 millimeters.
 5. The miter saw of claim 1, wherein the firsthandle comprises a grip portion formed about a center line.
 6. The mitersaw of claim 5, wherein the center line lies in a first plane thatincludes the center of gravity.
 7. The miter saw of claim 6, wherein thefirst plane includes the center of gravity when the miter saw isdisposed in a position where the workpiece-supporting plane issubstantially vertical.
 8. The miter saw of claim 1, wherein the baseassembly further comprises a front foot and a rear foot disposed nearthe first handle, and a first plate extending between the front and rearfeet.
 9. The miter saw of claim 8, wherein the plate is made of plastic,rubber and/or an elastomeric material.
 10. The miter saw of claim 1,wherein the first handle is disposed rightwardly of the blade.
 11. Themiter saw of claim 10, wherein the base assembly has a second handledisposed on the top surface leftwardly of the blade, with a second holeon the top surface extending through the base assembly, the second holebeing configured to allow a user to extend the user's hand therethroughand grip the second handle.
 12. The miter saw of claim 11, wherein aportion of the second handle is disposed within a region of the baseassembly, the region being defined by a first line between a first pointalong a cutting kerf that is farthest from the fence when the table ismitered leftwardly and a second point on the fence plane, where thefirst line is substantially perpendicular to the fence plane, and asecond line substantially parallel to the first line.
 13. The miter sawof claim 12, wherein a distance between the first and second lines isabout 100 millimeters.